In an operation carried out early this morning, agents surprised those responsible for a hashish shipment as they were preparing to unload the cargo. The drug traffickers, upon realizing they had been discovered, opened fire with long weapons against the Civil Guard officers, who returned fire without any agents being injured.
The incident occurred approximately eight nautical miles off the coast of Punta Umbría. A land and sea operation had been established to intercept a rigid-hulled inflatable boat carrying the drugs. After abandoning the location, the occupants of the vehicle opened fire on the agents. The perpetrators of the assault fled on foot, and one person was arrested at the scene.
An extensive lockdown operation has been deployed in the area, involving various units of the Civil Guard, including the Maritime Service, Citizen Security patrols, Traffic units, Air Service, Pegaso Team, Cynological Group, Fiscal Company, USECIC, and Judicial Police, in addition to requesting collaboration from other police forces to apprehend the fugitives.
During the operation, 56 bales of hashish, weighing approximately 1,120 kilograms, were seized. A handgun was found inside one of the involved vehicles. Furthermore, several shell casings and projectiles were collected from the scene for analysis by the Forensics department. Investigations are ongoing to clarify all details of the incident.
“"The professional association Justice for the Civil Guard (Jucil) has lamented the "situation that Huelva is enduring" as a "consequence of the expansion of drug trafficking" in the province, warning that these events "are not an isolated episode nor the result of chance, but the direct consequence of years of lack of investment in material resources, staff shortages, and the absence of a forceful response against the advance of drug trafficking"."
The association also pointed out that the official vehicle of the Civil Guard shows "several bullet impacts" from different calibers. They warned that, although no injuries had to be reported this time, "it is only a matter of time before we have to do so again if the expansion of this scourge is not stopped".
